


ValenTides

by orphan_account



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: F/F, Kinda, Valentine's Day, beach, lifeguard AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 21:03:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9786950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Maki’s just going to the beach with Rin and Hanayo on any other ordinary day in February. Well, at least that’s what she thinks.Written for vday.





	

“Ahhhhhh, that hit the spot. Thanks for treating us, Maki-chan!” Rin exclaimed that as they walked out of a restaurant that looked too fancy for its own good.

“Thank you, Maki-chan.” In contrast, Hanayo offered her thanks in a quiet voice.

“Of course I would. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you two.” Maki flushed a bit when she realized what she was saying.

“It was fun hanging out with you, too, Maki-chan." The redhead twirled the ends of her hair, neither confirming nor denying that she felt the same way. "S-speaking of which… Rin-chan, are we still on for tomorrow?”

“Hehe, of course Kayochin! What, did you think I forgot?!”

“Well you are forgetful at times.” Maki nodded in agreement.

“Eeeeeeehhh? You think so, too, Maki-chan?”

“Well… Ever since I’ve met you in high school, you’ve been pretty forgetful.” Rin turned away with a “hmph!” while the other two laughed. “So, where are you two going tomorrow?”

“The beach!” Rin spoke excitedly, almost as if the talk about her forgetfulness had slipped her mind. “It’s gonna be so much fun!” After saying that, Rin jumped towards Hanayo and clung to her.

“R-Rin-chan! Not here!”

“Hmm? Why not?”

"The beach, huh? Sounds nice..." As the redhead trailed off, the other girls looked at her with a bit of surprise. "W-what?"

"Do you wanna come, too? It'll be fun!"

"E-eh, Rin-chan?" The quiet brunette unexpectedly raised her voice at that.

"What's wrong, Kayochin? The more the merrier, nya!" Hanayo seemed to be at a loss for words. Maki thought about it for a bit.

"Fine. Only because you insist."

"Hehe, Maki-chan is smiling!" Maki immediately turned that grin into a pout and averted her gaze.

"N-no I'm not! More importantly, where are we meeting?" As Rin gave Maki a location, Hanayo softly sighed. "Hanayo? Is everything okay?"

"Yes..." Maki knew something was wrong, but didn't get the chance to press Hanayo further. "Ah, Rin-chan! We're gonna miss the last train!"

"Ah! You're right! See ya tomorrow!" The orange-haired girl ran off while waving.

"W-wait for me!" Maki watched as the two best friends walked together towards the station. Rin latched onto Hanayo’s arm while they were walking, and Maki swore she could hear a quiet shriek despite the distance.

The redhead sighed as she watched them, then decided she should head home as well.

* * *

 

“It’s almost too crowded… In February, too?” Maki wasn’t particularly bad with crowds, but the amount of people at the beach was overwhelming.

“W-where are we going to put our umbrella?” In response to Hanayo’s question, Rin pointed towards a small space sandwiched between other groups and the lifeguard tower.

“That seems open!”

The three of them walked towards the tower and set down their belongings. Maki took off the shirt she was wearing over her crimson bikini, drawing stares from others nearby.

“W-wow, Maki-chan.” Even Hanayo was ogling her.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Eeh, you’re blessed with such a nice body…”

“Rin?!”

“And when you look at me…” It seemed as if Rin was wearing the same bikini from their high school years.

“I-I think you’re cute, Rin-chan!” Hanayo adamantly said that, causing Rin to grin.

“Hehe, thanks Kayochin! You’re cute, too!” The brunette turned red at that. “Hey, let’s go play catch, Kayochin!”

“Eh? Aren’t you two going to put on sunscreen?”

“We already did before we came.” While Maki looked around for the sunscreen, Rin picked up a beach ball and stepped onto the sand.

“We’ll be going on ahead, Maki-chan! Don’t take too long, nya!” Before Maki could protest, Rin ran off, Hanayo in tow.

The redhead sighed. But not because her two friends left her alone at the beach. Rather…

_How am I gonna get my back?_

Maki wasn’t as flexible as she used to be, despite still being in her early twenties. It seemed that those all-nighters spent hunched over medical textbooks took their toll on the woman.

_Well, I’ll worry about that once I’m done with the rest._

With that, Maki started to rub sunscreen on her legs. She looked around while doing so, her gaze eventually landing on the tower next to her.

A woman climbed down the tower as she watched. She wore a thin jacket over a lifeguard bikini, despite the heat.

However, that jacket didn’t cover her smooth-as-silk legs. They were thin, but muscular at the same time. Maki couldn’t help but look.

“E-excuse me?” Do you need something, miss?” Those legs rapidly approached Maki.

The redhead looked up and saw long blue hair flowing in the ocean breeze.

“A-ah…” The lifeguard stood there as Maki racked her brains for a response. “C-could you get my back?”

“Hmm? Ah, sunscreen. Sure.” Maki laid chest-down on the blanket and handed over the sunscreen.

“I’m Maki Nishikino. What’s your name?”

“Umi Sonoda. Nice to meet you.” Maki heard the sound of Umi squeezing sunscreen into her palm. “Wait, Nishikino?”

“Yeah, my family owns a hospital near here. The Nishikino hospital.”

“Oh, that’s where we send people injured at the beach to…” Umi ran her hands against Maki’s shoulder blades. It was the perfect pressure for the redhead, who sighed in bliss.

“Mmm… You’re good with your hands.”

“T-t-thank you.”

“Ah, could you undo my bikini? I don’t want to miss any spots.” The pressure against Maki’s back disappeared as soon as she said that.

“I couldn’t do something so… S-s-shameless!”

_Shameless?_

“Fine, I’ll do it then.” Once Maki untied the string at the back, Umi put her hands back, but used much less force.

_Well, it’s not supposed to be a massage._

It was silent for a while, so Maki decided to strike up a conversation.

“It’s pretty crowded today, huh?”

“Yes it is. But it makes sense considering the day.”

“The day?”

“You know, Valentine’s Day?” Maki’s shoulders tensed up.

“Ueeeh?! That’s today?!” Maki was never a fan of Valentine’s Day, especially since she’d never had anyone to spend it with.

_Now Hanayo’s behavior last night makes sense… And Rin is as oblivious as ever. Ugh…_

“Unfortunately it is…” Maki heard the exasperated tone of the lifeguard’s voice.

“It’s a shame you have to work today then, huh?”

“Well it is my job.” Umi stayed silent for a while. “Not that I’m a big fan of Valentine’s Day… It’s not like I have a g-girlfriend.”

“Same here… Wait, girlfriend?!” Maki felt the hands on her back quickly move, spreading the sunscreen across the rest of her back.

“I-I thought I told those kids that there’s a limit to public affection!” After saying that, Umi quickly walked away. Maki turned over and saw something shining next to her.

“Wait! You forgot your… whistle…” Umi was far out of earshot when the redhead finished saying that.

_I guess I’ll just wait for her to come back…_

* * *

 

Maki was waiting for much longer than she thought she had to. The redhead watched as Umi went from umbrella to umbrella scolding people.

Most of the time it was about being too affectionate in public.

From time to time the lifeguard would make eye contact with Maki then quickly turn away.

_So she’s gay? Bi? Or maybe… she’s just shy?_

“Maki-chan!” Rin’s voice pulled Maki out of her thoughts. “What’s taking you so long to put on sunscreen?!”

“Ah, sorry I finished a while ago. Let’s go?” The two of them walked towards the water, where Hanayo was waiting.

“Ah, you brought Maki-chan.”

“Yep! She was staring at someone.” Maki felt heat rise to her cheeks.

“N-n-no I wasn’t!”

“So that lifeguard just happened to be right where you were looking, huh?” Rin pressed further, leaving Maki without an answer. “Jeez, Maki-chan you need to be more honest…”

“I don’t get what you’re saying at all.” The redhead turned away with a small pout on her face, eliciting a laugh from her friends.

“Is she pretty?”

“Well… I wouldn’t call her unattractive.”

“Alright, enough about Maki’s crush. Let’s play!” Rin said that loudly, causing people to look over.

“Fine, just… don’t say anything else about her, okay?”

“Got it, nya!” Rin threw the beach ball towards Maki.

The three of them quickly got into a rhythm of throwing and catching.

However, Maki watched as Umi walked towards their umbrella and picked something up.

_Ah, she finally found her whistle…_

“Maki-chan!” The ball went over Maki’s head before she could react. “Jeez, pay attention!”

“I’ll get it!” Maki looked back towards the ball. It was a bit far from the shore, but Maki had confidence in her ability to swim.

“Maki-chan, wai-“ Before Hanayo could finish her sentence, Maki jumped into the ocean, the water blocking out the sound of Hanayo’s voice.

* * *

 “Of course it had to be here…” Umi sighed as she picked up the lanyard attached to her whistle.

Being under this umbrella reminded Umi of Maki. Her luscious locks of hair, porcelain skin, and perfectly toned midriff. Not to mention her curves.

Umi shook her head to rid herself of Maki’s image.

_Back to the job, I suppose._

The blue haired girl ascended the ladder to her station, then sat down in a small chair at the top.

However, it didn’t seem like there was much time to lounge around.

Looking out onto the water, Umi saw a colorful ball. It was too far away from shore to make out

clearly, so Umi pulled out a pair of binoculars.

_There’s a person there… Maki?! Why is she…_

The lifeguard grabbed a rescue board, rushed down the tower, and blew her whistle. People moved out of her way as she made her way to the ocean.

“Is Maki-chan going to be okay?” Hearing that, Umi turned towards an orange-haired girl whom she didn’t know.

“Are you friends with Maki?” The girl nodded. “Why is she out so far?” The brunette next to her answered.

“She went chasing after a beach ball. Why, is something wrong?”

“I’m not sure of how good of a swimmer she is, but she’s going to be in trouble pretty soon. The tide is going to pull her further.” The two girls froze as they heard that. “I’ll go after her.”

Umi dived into the water, much like Maki had, and swam with incredible speed towards the redhead. Despite cutting through the water like a knife through hot butter, it took Umi a few minutes to reach Maki.

It seemed that Maki had passed out, so Umi slowly, but surely, dragged her back to shore.

_O-okay. Is she breathing? No… First, compressions._

Just as Umi had practiced on mannequins in lifeguard training, the blue haired girl pushed down on Maki’s chest. Then she leaned closer to Maki.

_Still no breathing… Focus, Umi! Her life is on the line!_

After a deep breath, Umi closed the distance between them and lifted Maki’s chin. Then she put her lips against Maki’s and blew.

After a couple breaths, Maki coughed up water and started to inhale and exhale normally.

“Good, you’re okay…” Umi smiled as she watched Maki. Then, she realized how many people were watching and remembered what she just did. “A-ah…”

“Mm…” While Maki began to regain consciousness, Umi slipped away. There was a lingering sensation on the lifeguard’s lips.

_She was way softer than the mannequin…_

* * *

 “Mmmm… Where…” Maki woke up with her back on the sand. The girl looked around. “W-why is everyone looking at me?”

“You almost drowned, nya!” Rin stood next to her with a worried expression on her face.

“Ehhh?!”

“It’s true! It’s a good thing your crush was here, though.” Maki tilted her head in confusion.

“Crush?”

“The lifeguard with the blue hair.” Hanayo spoke up to answer Maki. “She saved your life, Maki-chan.”

“That’s right! She even did that thing… What’s it called again? Where you blow air into people.“

“It’s called C.P.R., Rin. Cardiopulmonary resusci-“ Maki recalled the C.P.R. steps she had learned from a book. “W-wait so she…”

_Is that why my lips feel like this? Not that it’s a bad feeling… It’s just… Tingling…_

Maki sat silently for a while, then looked around for Umi. The lifeguard was nowhere in sight.

“Let’s go back, shall we?” Hanayo extended a hand towards Maki, who accepted it. The redhead stood up, and the group of three walked back to their umbrella.

On their way back, Maki spotted Umi across the beach. Her skin was shining brightly in the sun.

“Maki-chan, you want something from the vending machine? Hey? Earth to Maki-chan-“ Maki paid no attention to Rin’s voice. Instead, she was mesmerized by the sight of Umi walking around the beach, scolding couples for being too touchy.

_Valentine’s Day, huh?_

Maki raised a hand to her lips, where the tingling feeling remained. At that moment, Umi looked over, and the two made eye contact.

_Maybe I’ll give it a try next year… With a proper date._

**Author's Note:**

> I always forget to upload things to AO3 ._.


End file.
